


Love Looks Not with the Eyes

by GoodbyeYellowBrickRoad



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cupids, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, F/M, Gen, Red String of Fate, an unbelievable amount of hugging, and somehow Astra ends up frequently being a voice of reason, canon compliant minor character deaths, hank is not j'onn in this, instead of aliens they are cupids, kara is bad at her job, kara is jealous of her cousin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-10-18 03:30:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10608372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodbyeYellowBrickRoad/pseuds/GoodbyeYellowBrickRoad
Summary: When Kara gets Assigned to Alex Danvers, she's determined to make her family proud. Unfortunately, being a cupid on Earth isn't quite as easy as she thought. Things are complicated, especially since Kara can't see her own Soul String.





	1. Kara in Training

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is my first long fanfic that I've written in a few years, so bear with me here.

Kara sighed as she watched her arrow whizz past the target and meet the other arrows scattered on the ground. The young cupids around her cheered and she looked over toward the noise. Clark had gotten another bullseye. She forced a smile and a thumbs up as she caught his eye across the field. 

“You got this,” he mouthed, returning her thumbs up. She nodded in acknowledgement, but she knew she wouldn’t pass. Clark would complete his Trials and get to go to Earth and Kara was stuck for yet another year of being twelve years old. 

The bell rang and their trainer marked off each target on her clipboard as everyone headed to the locker rooms to get changed before their next period and next final exam.

“Hey, can you run through these flash cards with me?” Clark asked when he caught up to Kara. She smiled as she looked down at the words in front of her. This was her specialty.

“Do you want me to give you the word first or the definition?” she asked.

“Is the definition in English or Astral?” he asked.

“Astral, but I want you to translate it the definition,” Kara said. “I want you to practice your English.” Clark groaned but relented. 

“Word first then,” he said.

“Rudimentary,” Kara read off of the first card. Clark gave the Astral definition and then looked at Kara for help.

“It means ‘basic,’” Kara said. She tucked the card into the back of the pile. Clark sighed. “You can do this,” she said.

“That’s easy for you to say!” Clark said. He yanked open the door to their school building. “You’ve been able to spend years learning your Twelfth Scholar stuff!” Kara winced. She hated how much that stung, but he was right.

“Says the little cousin who is outshining me in every aspect of Field and will be sent to the Earth plane years ahead of me,” Kara muttered in English, but Clark knew enough of the language that he understood what she was saying.

“Sorry,” Clark said.

“No,” Kara said. “It’s fine. I knew when you passed  _ Fifth _ Trials that you’d get to Earth before me. I just hate the idea of you suddenly becoming older than me.” That wasn’t the only thing she hated about failing Trials, but it was the only thing she’d admit to Clark.

“I’m going to be taller than you, too,” Clark said. He grinned, and used his wings to levitated himself higher than Kara’s head. A teacher called out from down the hallway and he quickly dropped to the ground. “Sorry!” he called.

“Serves you right,” Kara said with a laugh. She threw an arm around her cousin. “Thinking you’ll ever be taller than me. Ha! Now, what does ‘tantamount’ mean?”

 

Kara walked out of her Earth Physics final exam at the end of the day in a much better mood than when she came in from Field. She waited outside Clark’s Math classroom and when he emerged met his beam with one of her own.

“I think I passed!” Clark said. Kara gave him a high five.

“Duh, I told you,” she said. “Math is all about making connections. It’s like Soul Strings but with numbers, and you can’t see the soulmate right away.” It had been the easiest way for her to explain formulas to him. They were the tools to find the answers, the way cupids used Soul Strings to match soulmates together during Assignments.

“That didn’t help. I got Aunt Alura to help me study,” he admitted.

“Oh,” Kara said, “you asked my mom for help?” Clark looked away from her.

“And I think I did good in American History,” he said, changing the subject. He switched to speaking English. Kara suspected it was because he knew how much she loved speaking in other languages.

“You did  _ ‘well,’ _ ” Kara corrected, also in English. “And everyone is good at American History.” She felt her mood start to crumble as the two of them stood in line for their report cards. Their tests from the previous hour would be graded soon, and then they’d both know if they’d passed Twelfth Trials, though Kara already suspected the answers.

“How do you think you did?” Clark asked.

“Like you said, I’ve had years to learn Scholars,” Kara said. “I’m worried about Field though.”

“It’s not like you’re the oldest person ever to not pass Twelfth Field,” Clark said. “Dad says his friend from his graduating class had been in Twelfths for twenty years.” Kara groaned.

“Clark, not helping,” she said. She didn’t even want to imagine being in Twelfths for another ten years. 

“Dad said they speak eight different languages by the end - some they spoke so good they offered to let them switch Guilds!” 

“‘ _ Could  _ speak,’” Kara corrected. “And they spoke so  _ well _ . Seriously, this is Tenth Trials grammar. And I wouldn’t want to switch Guilds, even if a French-speaking Guild would mean I could go see Paris. I like the Krypton Guild.”

“And staying in Krypton means you might get to see me on Earth when I get taller than you,” Clark added. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities, though Fate tended to Assign family members to different areas so they’d be less likely to reveal the existence of cupids and the Astral plane.

“Oh, that is so not happening. You will not be taller than me,” Kara said. She felt the smile begin to return to her face. Clark had a way of doing that, of making people feel like they were right where they were supposed to be. Those were the skills of a far better cupid than Kara. He could Nudge even the most stubborn in the right direction.

“Wait,” Kara said. “Did you just Nudge me?” Clark’s eyes went wide with guilt.

“What?” he asked. “No, I would never!”

“You did, you Nudged me when I wasn’t looking! You know you’re not allowed to do that on school grounds!”

“Yes I am,” Clark said. “We do it in Archery all the time!”

“That’s different,” Kara said. “That’s when we’re learning.”

“ _ I’m  _ learning,” Clark said before he clamped a hand over his mouth. He hadn’t meant the sarcasm to sound as mean as it did, but Kara’s anger got the better of her.

“I...you...it’s...ugh!” Kara sputtered before she threw up her hands and left the building. She knew she’d passed Twelfth Scholars. She knew she’d failed Twelfth Field. She knew she wouldn’t get an Assignment. She didn’t want to wait in line to find out. 

Unfortunately, she wasn’t paying attention, and stalked straight into her principal, report cards scattering in every direction. Kara leapt up and flew to get the cards sent sailing in the wind, but she couldn’t get quite high enough or keep enough control, and she watched her principal soar past her as she fell back to the pavement. She picked up the cards around her feet, and was alphabetizing them by last name when her principal touched down next to her.

“Kara of El,” she said. Kara stiffened. “You know better than to leave before the end of the day. Where do you think you’re going?”

“Sorry, Aunt Astra,” Kara said. She stared at the pavement. Astra sighed held out her hand, pulling Kara to her feet. She gave Kara the remaining cards, and Kara began to sort them.

“Sorry doesn’t explain skipping out before the end of the school day,” she said. She smoothed out the wrinkles of her jacket and reached her hands up to try and tame her dark, windblown curls. Kara grimaced.

“I failed Fields again,” she said. “Clark passed.”

“And how do you know that?” Astra asked.

“I had a feeling,” Kara said. “And I was right.” She gestured with the stack of report cards to prove her point. Astra smiled.

“Kara, your feeling was right. Do you know what that means?” Kara shook her head. Astra began to walk toward the school building, and Kara followed her. “It means you’re not as bad at this as you think. Follow your instincts and you will get there eventually.”

“What if I end up like Uncle Jor-El’s friend? The one who spent twenty years in Twelfth Trials?” Kara asked. Astra held open the door for her.

“Then you’ll end up just like me,” she said in French. Kara gasped, and Astra winked. “Now get in line, little one.”

 

Kara watched Clark leaf through his folder one last time. Her scrappy little cousin would be going to the Earth plane today. He’d gotten his Assignment before any of the other cupids in his graduating class. He’d get sucked into Earth, Kara knew. He would forget all about his big cousin on the Astral plane. It was alright, though. Kara knew she’d be okay. At least, that’s what she told herself.

“It should be you on that platform instead of him,” a voice said from behind her. Kara turned. Her mother and Aunt Astra looked identical save the white streak in Astra’s hair that marked her as a teacher. In demeanor, Alura and Astra couldn’t be more different.

“I tried, Mother,” Kara said. Alura frowned.

“You say that every year, sweetheart,” she said. Kara sighed. “He’s going to grow up without you to protect him now.” 

“I know.” It was one of Kara’s biggest fears, beyond Clark forgetting her. She had spent over a decade learning everything there was to know at the highest level of education about the Earth plane and about the English-speaking world. Clark had only had a year before he passed his Field Trials. If nothing else, Kara was smarter for her failures. Clark was a better cupid, but Kara would pass better for a human, and she wasn’t going with him to the Earth plane to keep him safe.

“He’ll make the House of El the pride of our Guild,” Alura said. Her words were biting. Clark, not Kara, would be the pride of the family. Clark, not Kara, would succeed.

“I’m already proud of him,” Kara said. She kept her voice even and polite. He handed his father his Assignment folder and gave his parents hugs goodbye.

“Of course you are,” Alura said. She walked over to her brother-in-law and gave him a smile that Kara had thought would never come back to her mother’s face. It wasn’t for her. Clark gave her a final wave as he stepped onto the platform from which he would go to America. He’d be a foster child, but Fate had arranged a family for him, and he had the parameters he needed to follow his Assignment. Kara blinked back tears as her Guild clapped for him and he shook Aunt Astra’s hand and jumped into the air, his wings glowing a brilliant blue before he faded from the plane.

 

Kara stood patiently in line for her report card. The cupids around her laughed and gossiped and made summer plans. No one paid much mind to the fifteenth-year Twelfth. They never did. There was one girl who was kind to Kara, a girl named Indigo, in her eighth year of Twelfth Trials. She and Kara were in the same Computer Skills class as well as the same Mandarin class. Kara was better than her at Mandarin, but Indigo loved computers. They weren’t friends, per say, but there was a mutual respect between them. Indigo had trouble seeing Soul Strings, and she’d gone home after failing to decipher even the closest soulmate connection during their Sight final that morning. Kara had thought she had done well, and she knew she had done better than Indigo. This was the first year in far too many that she was looking forward to receiving her report card, unsure of the results it held. 

Luckily for Kara, the Krypton Guild and other Guilds with Anglophone designations were the first to be called. She didn’t have that long of a wait.

“House of El, Kara,” Astra said. Kara walked nervously to the podium where Astra and her stack of report cards were stationed. “Twelfth Scholar Trials, pass.” Kara knew she would pass Scholars. She always had. She took a deep breath and met Astra’s eyes, which gave away no tells of what she was about to say. “Twelfth Field Trials, pass.”

Kara couldn’t believe it. She’d passed. She’d actually passed. She heard a shout and it took her a moment to realize that it was coming from her own mouth.

“I did it,” Kara said.

“Yes you did, little one,” Astra said. “Congratulations.” Kara skirted around the podium and gave her aunt a huge hug, even though she knew that hugging the principal wasn’t the most proper course of action. Behind her, the young cupids began to clap. Kara of the House of El had finally passed Twelfth Trials. She would make her mother proud yet.

 

It took another three months for Kara to get her Assignment. Her mother was more impatient than she was, Kara thought. Alura asked every day if Kara had heard from her aunt. Aunt Astra said that Fate takes its time deciding on Assignments.

Kara had her nose in her Social Media textbook, making sure she remembered the differences between platforms and the average lengths of hashtags, when a knock came at her bedroom door.

“Aunt Astra!” Kara said as she looked up. She stood up off of her bed and ran over to give her aunt a hug. “Did I get an Assignment? Did you bring it?” Astra laughed before pulling a folder from her jacket.

“Yes you did,” Astra said. “Congratulations.” Kara opened the folder. The first page contained information on her new foster home.

“The Danvers family,” Kara read.

“Yes,” Astra said. “Kara of El will become Kara Danvers. Your Assignment is young, and you are to be her new sister.” Kara pulled out the next page of information. Her Assignment was a girl a few years older than her. She wasn’t smiling, but her eyes looked kind. Her hair was a dark chestnut color. No Soul Strings were visible in photographs, since the human technology couldn’t capture something so Astral, but Kara could bet that Alexandra’s was beautiful. “There’s a surprise in there,” Astra added. “Go to the last page.” Kara did as she was told.

“Clark,” Kara said as she stared at the face before her. “He looks so grown up. This says he’s in college. Central City University, majoring in Journalism. Is his Assignment his sibling too?” Astra shook her head.

“I can’t divulge Assignments. You know that. Look at the bottom of the page.” Kara looked down to where Astra was pointing. There was a phone number and an email address.

“You mean I can get in touch with him?” Kara asked.

“Yes,” Astra said. “I may have pulled some strings and gotten a special request sent in for you.” Kara squealed and hugged her aunt, murmuring thank yous as pages flew out of her folder. Astra laughed again at the mess and hugged Kara back. “Oh, you are going to make a fantastic preteen.”


	2. Kara to Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kara finally gets to put her years of training into practice. Teenagers and life, however, are unpredictable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a cautionary warning that this chapter does include a minor character death to match canon.
> 
> Also, I don't own Supergirl or any of the characters. The Astral Plane and the ethereal beings are my own design, however.

The white walls of the waiting room felt small and cramped and the plastic chair that Kara was sitting on was uncomfortable. A small duffle bag lay on her lap, filled with a few changes of clothes and some trinkets to remind her of the fabricated life she’d had here on Earth. The clock seemed to tick endlessly and Kara bounced her legs without rhythm. She was nervous.

The door opened with a creak and Kara’s social worker stepped into the room.

“Are you doing alright?” Mrs. Smythe. Kara nodded. “We’re going to meet the Danvers now. The paperwork is all signed.” Kara nodded again. 

“Were you this nervous when you came to Earth?” she asked. She was grateful that there was no one else in the waiting room, so she could speak openly. The woman smiled.

“Zephyrs don’t get quite as extensive training in the Astral plane as cupids,” she said. “I was sent here when I was maybe half your age. I was able to visit other planes whenever I wished. I never felt without family or my roots.” Kara knew zephyrs and cupids were different, and her experiences would be different, so she thought for a moment before asking her next question.

“Did you find family and roots here?” she asked.

“Yeah, sweetie, I did,” Mrs. Smythe said. “I’ve even got a daughter now. She’s about your age. Siobhan. She’s whip-smart and stubborn as a mule. Earth is more my home than the Astral plane.” Kara was surprised at that. Her family didn’t talk much about their time on Earth. They’d made the Astral plane their home. Once Kara’s parents fell in love, they stopped taking Assignments. Aunt Astra still took Assignments when Fate gave them to her, but she been Assigned to Trials years before Kara was born, and Kara never thought to ask about Astra’s previous work. 

“Why did you choose Earth after you fell in love?” Kara asked.

“Well, humans can’t travel to the Astral plane,” Mrs. Smythe replied. Kara gasped.

“You fell in love with a human?” she asked. She had known it was a possibility, but the House of El held only cupids for generations back. Mrs. Smythe laughed.

“It’s more common than you’d think,” she said. “You’re not the first cupid I’ve helped get settled who’s questioned it. I’ll bet more than half your graduating class had a parent on Earth and you just didn’t know.”

“Romantic love is passion, but it is a private trust,” Kara said, reciting a line from her textbook. “It is not the job of a cupid to question the lives of others.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t talk about it, though,” Mrs. Smythe said. “Love on Earth is celebrated. It’s not a job to zephyrs, or humans, or most beings.” She glanced at her watch. “Speaking of humans, let’s get you to your new family, yeah?” Kara’s nerves jolted back into action and she gave a quick nod before getting to her feet and pulling her suitcase over her shoulder. Mrs. Smythe smiled, and Kara followed her out the door. 

A family stood up when Kara and Mrs. Smythe entered a similarly small and cramped waiting room. 

“Are you....Kara?” The father asked. He was a hearty-looking man with a round face and welcoming brown eyes. He held the hand of a tall, blonde woman who must have been his wife. Her blonde hair spilled over her shoulders and her eyes were brimming with excited tears. Kara gulped back her nerves and nodded.

“Welcome to our family,” the blonde woman said. She let go of her husband’s hand and reached out with both arms to embrace Kara, who stiffened before quickly and awkwardly putting her arms around the woman’s waist. The man laughed. When the woman pulled away, Kara noticed the tears had begun to spill down her cheeks.

“Forgive my wife,” he said. “She’s just excited. I’m Jeremiah Danvers, and the beautiful, huggable woman you see before you is Eliza.” Eliza gave Jeremiah a look. It was new to Kara. It was annoyed, but playful and full of love. Eliza reached a hand back for him and that’s when Kara noticed their Soul Bond. 

It wasn’t quite a string, the way she was taught. It was a feeling, a presence as brilliant and bold as an intangible red string. It wasn’t as defined, but every bit as beautiful. Kara watched at them in amazement before she turned. Not wanting to stare, she looked over at the teenage girl standing a few feet away with her arms across her chest. She had a Soul String too. It went through the wall and away from view, not quite as brilliant as the joined Strings of Eliza and Jeremiah, as Kara had noticed was the case with Mrs. Smythe and the humans she’d met so far. 

“I’m Alex,” the girl said. She lifted a hand to give a half of a wave and nodded in a half of a smile. Yes, this was Alexandra Danvers from Kara’s file, which she had memorized before handing it to her mother as Aunt Astra had guided her to Earth. The picture had been no more than a year old, but this girl’s hair was longer and her jawline more angular. Her entire body was closed off where in the photograph she’d seemed full of joy. Perhaps that had been Kara’s wishful thinking. 

“I’m Kara,” she said. She took a cue from how Eliza had introduced herself and walked over and hugged Alex. The teenager stiffened and did not return the hug. Kara pulled back. “Sorry,” she said. Jeremiah gave Alex a stern look.

“It’s alright, Kara,” he said. “Alex is just still adjusting to the news that she’s a big sister now. Isn’t that right, Alex?” His tone was commanding and fatherly. It reminded Kara of her mother, and she felt her eyes begin to well as she thought about how long it would be before she saw them again. Her mother had finally been proud of her, and she’d had to leave. She hadn’t even realized until this moment how much she was going to miss her family. At least she had Clark, whenever she got the chance to reach out to him. Kara felt Alex place an awkward hand on her arm.

“Hey,” Alex mumbled. “It’s okay. You don’t need to cry or anything.” Kara nodded and tried to blink away the tears. Eliza moved to put an arm around Kara.

“Can we take her home now?” she asked. Mrs. Smythe nodded.

“Thank you,” Jeremiah said. He shook Mrs. Smythe’s hand. “Thank you so much for giving us this beautiful new daughter of ours.” He grinned at Kara. “How does pizza and ice cream sound?” Kara felt herself smiling back at him. 

“It sounds great,” she said.Her foster family was wonderful. She would be okay.

 

When Alex slammed the car door and stalked into their house a little over two years later, Kara thought that, despite nearly thirty years of research, she might never understand humans. At the very least, she didn’t understand teenage girls.

“Just tell me what I did wrong!” she cried as she followed her big sister into the house.

“You always do this! I shouldn’t have to tell you!” Alex shot back. Their mother walked into the kitchen and waved her hand for them to lower their voices. She was on the phone.

“Well I don’t understand,” Kara said, quieter than her initial statement. “I just wanted to help.”

“Oh my God,” Alex said. “You think that whatever attempt you made at playing wingwoman, blatantly telling Bobby Fisher I liked him in front of every single one of my friends, that was helping?” She laughed darkly as she opened the refrigerator. “I swear you’re from a different planet or something. Just, stay out of my life.” Kara winced.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” she said. “I just thought, you know, we’re sisters. We’re supposed to help each other.” She walked closer to Alex to try and grab her hand in the soothing way that Eliza so often had. Alex pulled her hand back and glared.

“We are not sisters,” Alex said as she grabbed a soda. “You’re just some lost little puppy my mom and dad got from the pound, you hear me? Stay away from me. Deal with your own problems and don’t get involved with mine. And next time you want to help? Go run away and live with your little pen pal.” Alex popped the lid on her can and walked upstairs. Kara sighed and made her way to the family room, where she flopped with her backpack onto the sofa. Alex needed time to cool off, so Kara would have to do her homework downstairs as opposed to in the room they shared.Eliza walked over, phone still in hand, and gave Kara a sad smile.

“Alright. You too,” Eliza said, and hung up the phone. She put her arm around Kara. “She didn’t mean it,” she told her. 

“But what if she did?” Kara asked. Kara had been trying so hard to be the best cupid she could be. She was determined to give Alex happiness. Sometimes her Nudges missed and she needed to take a more personal approach, but Kara’s personal approaches never worked. All they did was make Alex mad at her. Still, Kara was relentless. She’d waited nearly twenty years for this opportunity. In some ways, the time spent on the Astral Plane, despite staying a preteen, made Kara feel more like Alex’s guardian, her older sister, than her younger sister.

“Oh, you two are sisters, but you’re also teenagers,” Eliza said. “You’re supposed to fight like this. It’s perfectly normal.” Kara moved closer to Eliza, who gave her a squeeze before releasing her and pulled her laptop off the coffee table. Kara opened her copy of  _ Great Expectations  _ and pulled out a pen to take notes. They sat like that for a while, until Kara had finished her reading and her foster mother went into the kitchen to prepare for dinner. 

Dinner itself was silent, with Alex still glaring at Kara over bites of baked ziti, and Kara staring at her peas as if her eyes could burn a hole in her plate. Eventually, Eliza gave up on small talk and began to clear the plates. That’s when Kara noticed Eliza’s Soul String.

Typically, Kara tried to block out the Soul Strings in order to help her focus on being human. She’d had to get used to her vision on Earth over the years. Some of her teachers had the vivid strings of having found their soulmates, and there was even a couple in their senior year of high school who had a completed Bond. For various reasons, some people didn’t have Soul Strings. Kara couldn’t see her own, of course, and a lack of a String didn’t mean a lack of a soulmate, just a lack of ability for Kara to intervene. Fate was specific, and cupids had limits. Still, the Strings she could see would shoot in all directions, creating a web of potential of various strengths that blurred Kara’s vision until she learned to see through them and concentrate on the Earthly visuals as opposed to the bits of the Astral Plane that peaked through. 

Kara had been so focused on helping Alex find a boyfriend and gain the ability to open herself up to love that she hadn’t even noticed Eliza’s String dimming. Kara concentrated as hard as she could, but she could barely see the Bond anymore. Kara’s focus made Alex’s glare turn from one of anger to one of bewilderment. Then the doorbell rang.

“Alex, can you get that?” Eliza asked over the water. Alex stood up and gave Kara a look, as if to ask what was wrong with her, before she walked out of the room to the front door. She reappeared after a moment. “Mom, it’s some guy named Hank?” Alex said. The man behind her was tall, with dark skin and dark eyes that were serious and somber. “He says he works with Dad.” Eliza turned off the water and smiled at him and Kara knew something was very wrong. She couldn’t see Eliza’s Soul String at all. 

“Hi, Hank,” she said. 

“Dr. Danvers, could I speak to you alone for a moment?” Hank asked. Eliza shooed her girls out of the room, and they went into the family room, where they both pretended to work on their homework, their argument pushed aside for the sake of curiosity.

Then there was a shout and neither girl was pretending to work anymore. Kara watched as Eliza sunk to her knees and her body was wracked with sobs. Alex was frozen and Kara found herself standing up. Eliza murmured some acknowledgements through her tears, and Hank put a hand on Eliza’s shoulder. He helped her up before shaking her hand and crossing through the family room to leave. He nodded once each at Kara and Alex and saw himself out the door. 

The house was still now. Eliza’s sobs had ceased and she stood in the doorway of the kitchen. Both girls stared at her, waiting for an explanation.

“Kara,” she started, her voice shaky. “Could you take a seat?” Kara swallowed and sat next to Alex. Eliza took a few deep breaths before continuing. “Your father....your father was in an accident at work today. He, well, he died about an hour ago.” Her voice was unsure and cracked before she could complete the sentence.

Kara felt all of the air leave her body. She couldn’t move and tears were flowing of their own accord. Jeremiah couldn’t be dead. He’d been so kind and loved her as his own blood. Eliza knelt and took both girls’ hands in her own. No one said anything for a few moments. There were just tears and gasps for breath until Alex tore away and ran out the door.

Eliza stared sadly after her and Kara took a deep breath. She squeezed Eliza’s hand and stood up to help Eliza sit on the couch. She didn’t know how she was supposed to react, but she never expected to feel so deeply for her foster family. They had become everything to her in the last three years and, as Kara wrapped a blanket around Eliza’s shoulders, she knew that things would never be the same. There would always be a small emptiness inside of her where Jeremiah once was. She’d carry that remnant of him with her as long as she lived on this plane or any other. Kara grabbed another blanket and headed outside.

The stars were out by the time she found Alex. She was sitting on a bench near the big tree where Jeremiah used to spread out a blanket and teach them about the stars. Kara loved the stories behind each constellation, and Jeremiah told them with such vigor. Alex didn’t look over when Kara sat next to her or when Kara draped her blanket over both of them.

“What can I do?” Kara asked. “What do you need?” Alex’s body shuddered briefly as she inhaled.

“I just need my sister right now,” she whispered, tears threatening to fall again. Kara moved closer and placed her head on Alex’s shoulder. They said nothing, just stared at the constellations. Human lives might as well be a flicker of dust compared to the brilliant permanence of the stars. A cold hand grabbed Kara’s under the blanket and she held on tight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is in part dedicated to my own dad, who met God two years ago tomorrow.


	3. Kara to Metropolis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A prospective college trip means that Kara and Alex finally get to visit Kara's pen pal, and the cousins of the House of El are reunited. Kara meets Clark's friends, although Lex had to cancel, and things don't go according to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I don't exactly have an update schedule planned for this thing, but it's looking like maybe once a week or so? 
> 
> I don't own Supergirl.

“So did Mom ever let you meet this guy before?” Alex asked, flipping through the copy of  _ The Daily Planet  _ she’d picked up at the train station. 

“Well, no,” Kara said. “But he’s video chatted with her more than once, so Eliza knows he isn’t some creep.” She shifted nervously in her seat as the train stopped. Kara read the platform sign for Gotham City. They only had two more stops until they reached Metropolis.

Alex tossed Kara the newspaper, folded to the “Dear Clark” section.

“I still can’t believe the pen pal you made when you were twelve ended up a famous romance columnist,” Alex said. She laughed. “Too bad he couldn’t teach you anything.”

“Hey, I date!” Kara protested. Alex smirked. To be fair, she had never done particularly well in her love life. She’d always been far too preoccupied with Alex’s and those around her. She’d even tried to Nudge Eliza into a date or two after Jeremiah died, but none of those men ever stood a chance over Eliza’s soulmate. Besides, most boys she got along with had Soul Strings, which meant they couldn’t be attached to Kara. They had someone else waiting for them. “You’ll like Clark,” Kara added after a moment.

“I hope so,” Alex said. “We are spending three whole days with the guy.”

“You’d have gotten to video chat with him and gotten to know him if you actually came home on your breaks instead of galavanting all across the West Coast.” She smiled again and bumped her shoulder against Alex’s. Alex snorted.

“Galavanting,” she said. “What kind of teenager says ‘galavanting?’”

“A well read teenager,” Kara insisted.

“Well, I’m here now,” Alex said, and Kara leaned her head on her sister’s shoulder. It was Alex’s last spring break before she had to start applying for med schools, and Eliza had insisted on her coming home. Since Alex and Kara were both looking at the University of Metropolis, Kara begged Eliza to let Alex take her to the city to meet Clark and visit the campus. Alex was thrilled to not have to spend her entire spring break cooped up in Midvale, and had sided with Kara, and their mother had relented, grateful that her girls wanted to go together.

“I know,” Kara said. She dozed there until a hand shook her knee and she was abruptly pushed off of Alex.

“We’re here, Kara,” Alex said, standing up. Kara blinked and looked over at the platform. Yes, yes they were. Kara jumped and practically forced herself through the crowd of passengers waiting to get off the train car. She ran to the outside of the station, dragging her suitcase in her wake and leaving Alex behind.

Waiting on the sidewalk was a man leaning against a light blue, mid-sized sedan, holding a sign that read “Kara & Alex Danvers” in big, block print. Kara didn’t stop running until she was scooped up in the man’s arms as he swung her around, her suitcase forgotten on the cement.

“Clark!” she squealed. It had been so long since she had been able to hug any member of her family. She missed the House of El every day, and hugging Clark on the sidewalk lifted her shoulders where she had long gotten used to weight. When put her down, she slapped his arm. “You got taller than me, jerk.”

“Told you I would,” Clark said. His voice was even deeper than is sounded on the phone. 

“God, you’re an old man now,” Kara mused as Alex headed their way.

“I’m twenty five,” he said. “I’m not dying.”

“You’re old,” Kara insisted. Clark laughed and stuck a hand out to the left of Kara.

“You must be Alex,” he said. Alex shook his and and put her other hand protectively on the small of Kara’s back.

“You must be Clark,” she said. “You’re taller than your picture suggests.” Clark raised his eyes and shot Kara a smirk and she rolled her eyes. A gust of wind blew and she shivered. Clark unzipped his University of Metropolis sweatshirt and draped it around Kara.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Consider it a gift,” Clark said. “At least one of you is bound to end up going there, so you’ll need it eventually. The grad programs are the best in the state, and the undergraduate school is known for journalism.”

“Then why’d you go to CCU?” Alex asked. She was cautious, Kara noticed, but Kara didn’t blame her. After all, to her, Clark was a much older man that Kara had somehow begun communicating with. Eliza and Jeremiah had been cautious too, though they let the pair write letters and, when Kara turned sixteen, allowed them to video chat. By then, Alex was in college.

“I didn’t get accepted until grad school,” Clark explained. “I failed math in high school.” Kara snorted. It wasn’t surprising, considering math was Clark’s worst subject in Scholars, but it was still news to Kara.

“You never told me that,” she said. 

“And why would I?” Clark asked. “Your little genius brain would never let me live it down.”

“Big genius brain,” Kara insisted. She had spent the last twenty nine years of her life in school. She loved learning. She was very good at it. 

“Big genius ego,” Alex corrected. They all laughed and Clark opened the door to the car.

“We don’t want to be late for the tours,” he said.

The drive to the campus was nice. They listened to the radio. Metropolis was much larger than Kara could have imagined. It was even larger than their city in the Astral plane had been, although Kara couldn’t be positive her memory was serving her correctly in that respect. It had been nearly six years since she’d seen her home. Still, the skyscrapers of Metropolis were awe-inspiring, and Kara let herself lose concentration and let the web of Soul Strings flood her view. It was beautiful. There were so many connections of so many strengths and the Astral energy made Kara feel more at home here than she ever had in the tiny town of Midvale.

The tour itself was alright, though it was more for Alex’s benefit than Kara’s. Kara had researched everything online beforehand, and taken the virtual tour more than once. She’d already gotten her acceptance letter, but Kara was waiting to see if Alex liked the school before she made her decision. She was hoping maybe they could go to school in the same city. She didn’t want to risk missing the window for her Assignment, and she didn’t want to miss her sister as much as she already did.

 

It was the next day when Clark invited some friends to hang out and meet Kara and Alex that Kara’s trip got exciting. They were playing cards on the couch when Clark’s friend Jimmy sauntered into the apartment.

“I have beers and some root beer for the teen,” he said, waving the six packs he was carrying. Clark gave him a hug and pointed toward the kitchen.

“Did Lex say if he was coming?” Clark asked. “I was hoping he could tell the girls about the program he runs at UM.”

“Nah, man, you know he’s still dealing with stuff,” Jimmy said from inside the refrigerator. Clark sighed.

“Yeah,” he said. “I know. Thought it was worth a shot, though. The guy didn’t even respond to my text.” Jimmy laughed and walked back into the living room with a tray with drinks and there was a knock at the door.

“You haven’t given Lois a key yet?” Jimmy asked, feigning shock.

“Come on,” he said. “We’re not there yet.”

“Yes you are,” Jimmy called as Clark headed toward the door. Kara laughed. She’d heard about Lois, Clark’s girlfriend, and was anxious to meet her. Her little sister Lucy was supposed to be coming over as well. Lucy was around Alex’s age and was also hoping to go to UM for grad school, although for Environmental Law or Business Law or some other specific legal path. Kara looked up as Clark opened the door and almost choked on her root beer.

Clark and Lois were soulmates. Their Soul Bond was blinding with its uncertainty and youth and Kara had never seen the likes of it before. It was beautiful. Clark didn’t know, obviously, or he would have given this girl a key by now. Kara was staring at the Soul String and almost missed Clark introduce the Danvers sisters to the Lanes. She shook herself out of her reverie and grinned, shaking the hands of each girl. 

“I’m Kara,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you.” Where Lucy was shorter, with a darker complexion and dark hair, Lois was a tall and fiery redhead. They didn’t look much like sisters, but, then again, neither did Alex and Kara. Clark looked at Kara for a moment, knowing she’d been staring at Soul Strings, but didn’t say anything.

“So Clark says you want to go to UM?” Alex asked Lucy, and the two moved to the side of the room to talk about their graduate school plans. Clark and Lois sat on the couch, where Clark put his arm around her. Kara smiled.

“They’re cute, huh?” Jimmy asked her. 

“He didn’t tell me much about her,” Kara said, amazed. The couple was talking animatedly and it was clear even without the Soul Bond that they were in love. Clark leaned into every word Lois said, and Lois in turn giggled and gestured with her hands so close to his face. 

“Yeah, he hasn’t figured out that he’s crazy about her,” James said. 

“How is that even possible?” Kara asked. She wondered if it was because Lois was human and not cupid. Perhaps that also factored into Clark’s hesitancy to take the next step with her. He had always been the perfect cupid, after all, and the House of El hadn’t had a human in it for generations.

“Our buddy Lex, who was supposed to come over tonight, he was in love,” Jimmy said. “Clark helped get them together, and they were even engaged.” Jimmy’s mood had turned somber, and he murmured close to Kara so no one could overhear.

“What happened?” Kara asked.

“She died,” Jimmy said. He didn’t offer more details than that, and Kara didn’t ask. Love was private, and so was heartbreak.

“Clark blames himself?” Kara asked, though it wasn’t a question. He had always been the perfect cupid, so Lex losing the love of his life must have felt like the ultimate failure. She thought that maybe Lex was Clark’s Assignment, although she couldn’t be sure.

Jimmy pulled away from her and clapped his hands, interrupting the other conversations in the room. He was grinning again, as if their conversation about Lex had never happened.

“Alright!” he said. “Are we going to watch a movie this afternoon or is this a board game situation?” Clark waved a hand to let him take the lead. 

 

Alex seemed to be hyper-aware of Kara’s movements over the afternoon, never giving her a moment to herself, when all Kara wanted to do was to craft a bow from the Astral energy around her and give Clark the Nudge he needed to be with his soulmate.

“I don’t like how close that Jimmy guy was standing to you,” Alex said as explanation. Kara rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t tell Alex that Jimmy had a visible Soul String and therefore nothing would ever happen between them.

Everyone was focused on the movie by the time take out arrived. Alex got up to go pay for their pizza and Kara took that as her opportunity. She told Clark she was headed to the bathroom and he shouted directions without looking away from the screen. Kara made her way to the corner of the room and focused on the bond between Clark and Lois as she felt a bow grow heavy in her hands.

Clark had always prefered smaller targeting tools, like a slingshot or a crossbow, but Kara liked the tradition of a cupid’s bow and arrow. They’d had to master all of the tools regardless of preference, anyway. If she was going to bring love into her cousin’s life, she was going to do it as a proper cupid. She checked her surroundings once more and felt her wings pull from her back as they had a tendency to do on Earth. In the Astral plane, Nudging wasn’t half as much of a production, but on a plane without the same energies, Kara found herself having to dip into everything that made her cupid. She lifted a few inches off the ground and concentrated again, forming an arrow between her fingers. She notched the arrow, lined up her target, and double checked her stance. She released the string with an exhale and the arrow flew straight into Jimmy, Nudging him toward Lucy.

Kara sighed and touched back to the ground. She should have planned more. Taken a few practice shots. She’d been impulsive. Again. And now Jimmy’s hand was inching toward Lucy’s and she’d failed. She pulled her wings in and turned toward the kitchen, hoping that helping Alex set up the pizza would distract her from this disaster.

Alex was standing five feet away from her, staring, dumbstruck and with fear in her eyes.

“Alex, I can explain.”


	4. Kara Tells All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kara has to explain to her science-oriented sister about an intangible plane with quasi-mythological beings and it doesn't exactly go according to plan. Not that Kara even has one of those.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, CAUTIONARY WARNING: there are some descriptions of physical pain at the end of the chapter, so if you need to, just stop reading at "Kara closed her eyes. She was exhausted." It's not bloody or violent, just pain.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Supergirl or any of the characters, just my specific version of the Astral plane.

Everyone looked over at the sisters who were clearly about to fight, so Alex dragged Kara into Clark’s guest room. Kara could hear a sudden, loud, small-talk filled conversation begin, and she was grateful for the privacy, though she wondered how long it would last. If Alex had seen, who knew if any of the others had glanced behind them at just the wrong time?

“You were flying,” Alex said. Her voice shook. “Like, actually in the air, flying. Or, levitating.”

“Yes,” Kara replied. There was no denying it. Alex had maybe one beer. She wasn’t drunk and she wasn’t seeing things. The truth was the best option. Alex sat on the bed.

“How?” she asked. She didn’t look Kara in the eyes, but Kara knew the fear was still there. She pulled out a chair from the desk in the corner of the room and moved it so that she was close to Alex without intimidating her. Alex didn’t look up from the evidently fascinating spot she was watching on the rud. Kara thought for a minute about how best to respond to her question.

“I have wings,” she said, finally. Alex snorted and turned to face Kara. The fear hadn’t gone away, but now skepticism had overtaken her emotions.

“I didn’t see wings,” Alex said. “What, are they invisible?” Of course Alex wouldn’t have been able to see them. Humans couldn’t even see Soul Strings, which were the highest concentration of Astral energy that Kara knew about.

“Not invisible,” Kara explained. “Imperceptible.” Alex shook her head slowly in disbelief. 

“Imperceptible,” she repeated before chuckling to herself. The look she gave Kara was both disparaging and cynical, and Kara knew she had to find a better way to explain herself. She still wasn’t even sure how much she was planning on revealing to Alex, but she was in too deep now.

“Imperceptible to humans,” she said, slowly and softly. She held Alex’s gaze, terror flooding her veins. She had no idea how Alex was going to react to her not being human. To her surprise, Alex’s expression softened into one of curiosity and concern.

“What?” Alex asked. She stood up and took Kara’s hands in her own, squeezing them as if making sure Kara were real. Kara tried to give Alex her most reassuring smile.

“Alex, listen -”

“Okay, we can fix this,” Alex interrupted. She stood up. “We’ll talk to Mom, get you some help,”

“I’m not crazy,” Kara said. How was Alex not understanding this?

“You’re also not Harry Potter,” Alex said. She began to pace. “Delusions of grandeur are the biggest signs of schizophrenia, Kara.” Kara couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Of course her Pre-Med sister would jump to conclusions like that. Kara sighed.

“I’m not crazy,” she repeated. She took a step toward Alex, who had begun gesturing with her hands as if trying to picture the facts she’d learned. She stopped pacing and turned toward Kara.

“It’s going to be okay,” Alex insisted. She took Kara’s hands in hers again. She was smiling now, trying to be the supportive big sister. “We’ll get on top of this and you’ll be fine. The right medication and behavioral therapies and -” Kara pulled her hands away with a frustrated groan and unfurled her wings, lifting a few feet off the ground.

“I can fly, Alex,” she reminded her. Clark picked that moment to walk into the room.

“Hey, is everything -” Clark stopped talking and glared at his cousin. “Kara, what the fuck?”

“She can fly,” Alex said. She sat back down on the edge of the bed, her face a myriad of emotions before they settled back into disbelief.

“Yeah, I know,” Clark said before turning to Kara. “Get back down before someone else sees you!” he hissed. “Are you insane?”

“Alex thinks I’m schizophrenic,” Kara retorted, disgruntled as she touched down to the floor. Tucking her wings into her back, she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. At this point she was disappointed herself for not being able to get through to Alex and frustrated at Alex for not understanding and mad at Clark for suddenly trying to be some kind of authority figure.

“And you thought what?” Clark asked. He was angry now too. “That showing her evidence of the Astral plane, breaking the one rule we have, that would somehow make you seem less crazy?” Kara didn’t want to admit it, but Clark was right. It wasn’t a great plan.

“Oh God, you’re in on this?” Alex asked. She stood up again and leaned closer, more concerned than ever. “Is this a cult?” She spoke quietly as to not be overheard by anyone in the other room. Kara snorted.

“It’s not a cult,” Kara said. Unbelievable.

“Look, my dad, Jeremiah, he used to work in the government,” Alex told Clark. “We still have connections, we can get you out of this -”

“It’s not a cult!” Kara cried, throwing her hands up. Clark threw her a look to silence her, and she shrugged a sheepish apology at him and took a deep breath. A knock came at the door and all three of them jumped.

“Hey, man, we’re going to head out,” Jimmy’s voice called. “This seems kind of personal.” 

Clark sighed, gesturing with his hands as if to say,  _ see what you did?  _

“I’ll talk to you later?” Clark asked.

“Yeah,” Jimmy said. Kara, Alex, and Clark stayed silent until the retreating footsteps were followed by a closing door and they knew they were alone. Clark opened the door to the guest room and went back into the living room. He flopped on the couch. The movie had been turned off.

“You know I have to tell your mom about this,” he said. Kara had been following him to the couch but she stopped short, causing Alex to walk into her. Kara couldn’t even get an apology out, just a squeak. No, her mom could never know about this. It would ruin everything she had built. Kara had come to love Earth just as she’d always thought she would. She wasn’t ready for that to be taken away.

“Don’t you dare!” She said. She was trying to sound assertive but her voice cracked. Trying to keep herself together, she took a step forward, pleading. “They’ll send me back home, and I haven’t finished my Assignment yet.”

“Your mom?” Alex asked from behind her. She put a hand on Kara’s shoulder. “Kara, your mom died. That’s why we’re sisters.” Evidently she hadn’t quite given up on the schizophrenia theory.

“She’s not dead,” Kara said, turning to her. She felt guilty, suddenly. This lie had been the hardest to live. She and Alex had been there for each other after Jeremiah died, and lying about her dead parents felt like the ultimate betrayal. “Neither is my dad? They’re just not on Earth.” 

“Not on Earth,” Alex repeated. She brushed past Kara to the table, where her beer still sat from earlier. She took a swig and turned to the two cupids. “Great, great, so where are they?”

“The Astral plane?” Kara offered. Alex ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes for a moment.

“The what?” Alex asked. She looked dejected as she took a seat on a navy blue ottoman on the opposite side of the coffee table.

“Kara, shut up,” Clark hissed. He clenched his jaw and Kara knew that this was the threshold he didn’t want her to pass. He saw that Alex was ready to listen, a fact that was not missed by Kara.

“No,” Kara said. She put her hands on her hips and stared at Clark, unblinking. “She deserves to know.”

“About what?” Alex asked. She hadn’t moved from her perch on the ottoman but she looked exhausted.

“About cupids!” Kara said at the same time that Clark let out a frustrated cry of “nothing!”

“Cupids,” Alex repeated. Kara nodded and moved to sit next to Alex. She tried to take her hand, but Alex shied away from the touch. Kara swallowed, and looked at Clark, who waved an arm and crossed his legs, giving her a bitter go-ahead. Kara gave him a quick smile and turned to Alex. 

She started by explaining about the Astral plane, and some of the species that lived there, before giving a simplified version of her life as she went through Trials. She stayed away from specifics, not wanting to scare Alex who, by the end of Kara’s story, settled and even let Kara put a reassuring hand on her arm here and there. She even asked some questions, which Kara tried to answer simply and to the best of her ability. Kara was smiling at Alex as she finished her explanation, and Alex, though not smiling, seemed content and not as scared as she was before. Clark clapped his hands slowly.

“And now Kara has risked the lives of all of us and I have to tell my aunt that she screwed up,” He spat. Kara groaned. Alex was okay. He could see that. He didn’t have to be this insufferable about it now. He didn’t need to tell anyone. But of course he would. Clark was the perfect cupid, after all.

“You always did revel in being the pride of the House of El,” she retorted. “How dare I ever attempt to be a good cupid and risk your precious spotlight.” They glared at each other before Alex broke the silence.

“Wait, are you two related?”

“Clark’s my little cousin,” Kara explained.

“What?” Alex asked. She balked, more shocked than she’d been since Kara had flown in the guest room. “Wait, how old are you?”

“Oh, don’t act like you haven’t always been jealous of me!” Clark said. His air of superiority had deflated now that Alex knew he was younger than Kara, and that youth and the desire to be in charge soaked his remarks. He stood up and began walking toward the kitchen. Kara lept up.

“Well, don’t act like you’re smarter than me!” she cried.

“Fate should have never Assigned you to Earth,” Clark said as he opened the refrigerator. He  pulled out a beer and returned to the living room, standing close to Kara as he spoke in a low, vengeful voice. “You should have been a teacher like Aunt Astra. Those who can’t do and all that.” He twisted the cap off of his beer and walked back to the couch.

“Wow,” Kara said. She sat down, unsure if her legs could keep her up. She’d been waiting for Clark to say it, she realized. She’d always known that’s what he thought. That’s what everyone thought. “And the truth comes out.” Clark laughed, though there was no humor in his eyes or his voice.

“And now we’ll be the shame of our Guild,” he said. “Nudging someone when there are humans present - what the hell! Who were you even aiming for?”

“Please don’t tell my mom,” Kara begged. Alex took her hand and squeezed it, ready to fight, but Kara gave a squeeze back to let her know that this wasn’t a battle for fists or even angry words at this point.

“I have to,” Clark said. He was calmer now, and looked at her with sympathy. “You know that. I’m the eldest of our family on this plane, Kara. It’s my duty.” Kara nodded, and put her head on Alex’s shoulder. Alex let go of her hand to put an arm around Kara’s waist as Kara closed her eyes. She was exhausted. Clark got up to leave to make his report, and Kara felt a pain in her gut spreading all over her body.

It took Kara a moment to realize that the pain wasn’t emotional - she felt like she was burning from the inside out. She screamed and dropped to the floor on her hands and knees, desperate for the fire to go out. It wasn’t a ripple and it didn’t come in waves. The burn was constant and it hurt, so much, everywhere. She was dimly aware of Alex shouting, and Clark, through her greying vision, seemed doubled over as well. She was crying, she realized, and she hadn’t quite stopped emitting strangled sounds from her throat. She wanted the pain to stop. It wasn’t stopping. It alternated between feeling like fire and feeling like knives and after what felt like hours everything finally went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you took the caution warning and didn't read the end, Clark gets up to go report to Alura and then the two cupids are suddenly in insurmountable pain and Kara blacks out. 
> 
> Sorry about the cliffhanger but at least I'm getting on a schedule with my updates!


	5. Kara in Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara wakes up in Smallville. Cupids are under attack and as damage is assessed hard choices have to be made.

Blinking awake, Kara felt a dull throbbing in her skull. Movement hurt, as if she had spent the previous day exerting every muscle in her body, each their own variation of sore or strained. She stopped the moment she was sitting upright, and leaned against the cool, rough wall she found was behind her. 

The room was dark, she noticed. There were no windows, and her eyes hadn’t quite adjusted. She had no idea how big the floor was, only that it was concrete under a soft blanket she had been laying on. 

She remembered the pain - how long ago had that been? How long had she been asleep? How long had she been here? She would have thought she’d wake up in a hospital or her bed or Clark’s guest bed. Something was wrong, but when Kara tried to shout she found her throat was hoarse and her mouth was as dry as sandpaper. Her face was caked with the remnants of sobbing and dirt she assumed was from the floor. She felt around for the enV Touch that the Danvers had finally let her get for her eighteenth birthday, but it was gone. 

There was a groan of metal that come with a wash of light as a door opened and Kara could see that she was in a basement-like room. It was primarily used for storage, judging by a handful of cardboard boxes and plastic tubs and two bikes in the corner. Kara didn’t recognize anything and fear swept through her body. She tried to skirt back, away from whoever had opened the door, but she was already at the back wall. She moved a few feet into the corner.

“Alex, she’s awake!” a voice cried. Eliza, Kara recognized, and she felt herself beginning to cry again in a mix of confusion and relief as her foster mother ran over to her and drew her into her arms. “Oh, my sweet girl,” she said. “You’re going to be okay.”

Alex sprinted into the room. She’d been crying too, it seemed. She knelt next to her mother and rubbed Kara’s back while passing over a bottle of water. Kara guzzled it and Alex laughed softly.

“Where am I?” Kara asked, gulping down air after she was done drinking the water. She put her head on Eliza’s shoulder as the three of them curled up together in the dingy basement.

“Smallville,” Eliza said with a sigh. She pulled away and took Kara’s hands, looking her in the eyes in the dim light. “The Kents’ farmhouse, in the basement. We had to hide you and Clark, but you’re safe now.” That didn’t make sense to Kara. Why did she need to hide? Why did Clark need to hide? How did they even get here from Metropolis?

“Where’s Clark?” she asked, trying to get her thoughts in order. Alex nodded into Kara’s shoulder.

“He’s safe,” Alex said. “He’s awake. He woke up before you. I’ll go get him.” She moved to get up but Kara panicked and grabbed her arm. She was scared. She didn’t want her sister to leave her, not now. Alex sat back down and wrapped her arms around Kara. “It’s alright,” she murmured, “how about we take you to him when you’re feeling up to it?” Kara nodded, tears threatening yet again.

“She’s exhausted,” Eliza told Alex. She turned to Kara. “You get some rest. One of us will be here when you wake up, and then we’ll get some food in you. Then you can see Clark.” Eliza pulled the blanket over the three of them and Kara curled into her. Alex stroked Kara’s hair and she found herself falling asleep.

When she woke, Alex was holding her hand. The lights in the basement had been turned on, and Kara found that the walls were a deep cream color painted over brick. The blanket covering her had Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it, probably from Clark’s middle school years. Alex looked haggard. Her hair was a mess and there were deep circles under her eyes. Kara shifted and Alex helped her sit up neither of them saying anything. Alex was waiting for Kara to speak first, she realized. Alex was nervous, and Kara felt the same nerves beginning to creep up inside of her as well.

“How long?” Kara asked, finally. “How long since Clark’s apartment?” Alex gave her a small smile.

“A few days,” she said. “You can Clark gave us a scare. You’re lucky Mom’s a doctor.”

“And you’re going to be one too,” Kara added, and Alex laughed.

“Yeah, I am,” she agreed. She looked Kara up and down for a minute. Satisfied, she asked, “are you ready to go upstairs?” Kara nodded and Alex helped her stand. 

Her muscles still hurt, but the headache was fading and the disorientation from standing after being on the ground for so long wasn’t bad after a few seconds. They walked through the door into a larger basement area. This room was furnished, with two old couches and a few pieces of exercise equipment facing a television, and a desk with a computer in the corner of the room by the stairs. Alex helped Kara with each step until they were in a white-tiled kitchen where Eliza and a salt-and-pepper-haired woman Kara assumed was Clark’s foster mother sat at a table, chatting and drinking coffee. They stopped talking when they noticed the two girls enter the room.

“Oh, Kara, it’s so good to see you up and about!” Mrs. Kent said. She walked over to them and gave Kara a hug that reminded her of the first time she’d met Eliza. She put her arms around Mrs. Kent and then pulled away.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Kent,” Kara said, and the older woman laughed.

“No, no, no,” she said. “Call me Martha.”

“Alright,” Kara said, nodding. “Martha.” Martha smiled at that, and gestured toward the fields beyond the screen door.

“Clark’s out with the tractor,” she said. “I’ll go give a holler.” She headed out to the porch and Kara joined Eliza at the table while Alex poured each of them a cup of coffee.

“Is it safe for Clark to be out in the open?” Kara asked. “What exactly is going on?”

“Half coffee, half milk, with two heaping spoonfuls of sugar,” Alex said instead of answering, setting the coffee down in front of Kara. Kara grinned, and took a big gulp, the milk making it cool enough to drink. Alex laughed. “Once you get to college you’ll end up drinking it black like me,” she said. Kara gasped.

“Never,” she promised. The sound of a motor running found its way inside before dying down, and Martha and Clark walked into the kitchen. Kara stood up and Clark pulled her close. Neither of them needed to say anything. Their family was quiet to let them have their moment, but Clark turned to Eliza over Kara’s shoulder. 

“How much have you told her?” he asked. Eliza’s smile disappeared and the faces at the table turned serious and somber.

“I was waiting until you got back,” she said. Clark nodded and let go of Kara, taking a seat and pulling out a chair for her so that she was seated in between him and Alex.

“So what happened?” Kara asked. Clark swallowed, his face paling.

“It was my fault,” he said. “I let this happen. I told Lex.” He wouldn’t look Kara in the eyes. She looked quickly at Eliza and Martha, and then back at Clark.

“Told Lex what?” she asked. Clark wouldn’t answer. He just shook his head. “Clark, what did you tell him? What happened?” Kara was raising her voice, and Martha put a hand on her arm to stop her.

“He told Lex about cupids, honey,” she said. Kara stilled and slowly looked over at Eliza.

“It’s okay,” Alex said, a hand on Kara’s shoulder. “Mom knows.”

“My daughter is from outer space,” Eliza said, laughing, though panic was in her eyes. “It could be worse. You could have gotten a bad tattoo.” Everyone chuckled, but the attempt at humor was weak at best.

“The Astral Plane,” Kara corrected. “It’s not the same as outer space. It’s not outer, really. It’s more...another. It’s here, in this same space, but on a different level.” Eliza nodded, though it was clear she didn’t understand. They’d talk about it later. Clark, his voice cracking, spoke up again.

“Lex and I met in college,” he said. “He was my Assignment. That’s why I didn’t go to UM for undergrad.” He hesitated, and Kara passed him her mug of coffee, which he took a sip from, and grimaced. “What is in that?” he asked.

“Mostly not coffee,” Alex answered for her. Kara stuck her tongue out at her, and Eliza rolled her eyes.

“Not the time, girls,” she said. They both mumbled apologies and Clark continued.

“I got to know Lex, and we ended up best friends. He was smarter than me by a long shot, but I was better socially, so we balanced each other out. He reminded me of you a bit, Kara,” Clark said, giving her a smile. “At least in the beginning. And then he met his soulmate. And getting them together was tough. He refused. He used logic to insist that no matter how much he wanted her, she would never want him back. The kind of logic that meant my Nudges didn’t work.”

“Nudges?” Eliza asked.

“They give your heart incentive,” Kara said. “Just a little. Just enough.” Alex looked suspicious, and Kara remembered that Alex had caught her after she’d Nudged Jimmy. She added, “Nothing that would overpower free will or consent or anything. Just something to open your mind a bit and put it at ease.”

“I had to tell Lex,” Clark continued. “It was the only way to get him to listen to my reasons and break through his own. They were soulmates. And he trusted me. And they fell in love.” Kara remembered that Jimmy had told her the rest of this story.

“She died,” Kara said, her voice barely above a whisper. Clark nodded.

“He blames you,” Alex said. “Because you were Assigned to him.” Clark nodded again. “What does that mean, exactly?” Kara and Clark looked at each other, silently asking which of them should explain. Clark inclined his head, so Kara spoke first.

“All beings have a bit of the Astral plane in them,” she explained. “A gift from Fate. At least, that’s what cupids are taught. It’s kind of like a string, and it shines through onto this plane. It links between soulmates. Clark and I can see them because we’re cupids. Or, most of them. We can’t see our own, or the strings that Fate doesn’t want us to intervene with.” Alex, Eliza, and Martha were all leaning forward, fascinated.

“When we pass Trials, which I guess is kind of like your elementary school in ages, but more like high school in content, each cupid gets Assigned a human to find a soulmate for,” Clark said. His brow was furrowed. He wasn’t sure how to make them understand. Kara wondered how much he had told Lex, ultimately. 

“Fate gives us our Assignments so that, once we get to Earth, we’re able to affect the souls around us, and try to find their soulmates,” Kara said. “The main objective is the Soul Bond of our Assignment. Our Assignment is complete when the Soul Bond is complete. Then we can either stay here or go back to the Astral plane.” Clark had chosen to stay. Even without knowing that he and Lois were meant to be together. Kara smiled. She wondered if she would go back, after she had found Alex’s soulmate. She loved Earth. Maybe she would stay, like Clark.

“So who are you Assigned to?” Eliza asked. Kara winced, and tried not to look at Alex. 

“I’m not allowed to tell you,” Kara said. “I’m not allowed to tell anyone, human or cupid or any being. Fate is kind of particular.”

“Too many cooks in the kitchen,” Clark added. Kara nodded.

“We could get in a lot of trouble just for telling you about cupids,” Kara said. It was too late now.

“Doesn’t matter much anymore,” Alex muttered. Kara looked at her, questioning.

Martha sighed and reached behind her  to pull a newspaper off of the counter and place it in front of Kara.  _ MORE CUPIDS CONFIRMED DEAD IN WAKE OF SECOND LUTHOR ATTACK,  _ it read. 

“He’s declared war on us, Kara,” Clark said. “He found the House of El and the Krypton Guild. He’s hunting them and killing them and the government is on his side.” Kara swallowed. She scanned the article. Most of the bodies were unidentified. They had no record of ever existing. No social security or dental or fingerprints.

“He’s pulling them out of the Astral plane,” Kara said as she realized the severity of what was going on. She felt like she was going to be sick. There were children in the Astral plane, little cupids who hadn’t even been enrolled in Fifth Trials yet, and Lex Luthor was killing them.

“No one’s heard from Astra,” Clark said after a moment. “But she’s not an El, she should be okay.” Kara blinked, unsure of what that meant.

“Have you heard from your dad?” Kara asked. Clark looked like he could break down in tears at any second.

“The House of El is gone, Kara,” he said, so soft Kara was almost certain she heard it wrong. “He killed them all.” He got up and slammed his chair into the table as he left the room. He stormed upstairs. Kara felt bile rise in her throat. He’d killed them all. Her parents, her Uncle Jor, her Aunt Lara, her cousins... 

“How?” Kara asked, struggling to keep her composure. “How did he kill them?”

“There was technology that targeted Clark’s DNA,” Alex explained. “It searched the Astral plane and opened some sort of bridge that dropped them on Earth, right at LuthorCorp. Then it killed them all. Everyone, not just the House of El, but everyone who came through the portal. Clark says they were all Krypton Guild.” Kara’s stomach turned. She looked back at the article. There were children in one picture, laying unconscious next to a target. They couldn’t have been in more than Seventh or Eighth Trials.

“He attacked a school,” Kara said, with more breath in her voice than sound. Clark nodded. 

“They only found kids with Field uniforms,” he said. “Astra didn’t teach any Fields subjects. No news is good news. She should be okay.” He’d said as much earlier. Astra was her mother’s sister, of the House of Ze. The House of El was dead, but she could still be alive.

Kara would never see her parents again.

She’d known loss. She’d felt the heartbreak of losing Jeremiah, the man who had become her father on this plane. But she remembered the pain she’d felt from the technology connected to Clark’s DNA. If she’d felt that much pain, her family must have felt a far worse pain, a pain enough to kill them. Kara couldn’t breathe. She would have gladly endured more of that pain if she could have more time with her family, one more moment, just to say goodbye. And now she never would. A squeeze on her hand brought her out of the frozen state she had found herself in.

“We’ll have to move soon,” Martha said. “Lex hasn’t officially named Clark, but he says he’s hunting the cupid who ruined his life. He knows where Clark grew up. It’s only a matter of time before he shows up here.” Kara nodded.

“Alex says we’ve been here a few days?” she asked.

“We didn’t want to move you more than we had to,” Martha confirmed. “Now that you’re up and about, though, we should get going.” Kara thought about her friends back home. The Danvers’ disappearance would stir up rumors. Everyone would suspect all three of them, not just Kara, of being cupids. It would be hard for them to get jobs or for Alex to go to graduate school. Kara and Alex might not even be able to go to school if they were in hiding, unless they found someone to get them new identities. That would take time, and more money than they made, probably. 

“You three will go home to Midvale,” Clark said. Kara snapped her head over to him.

“What?” she asked, incredulous. He couldn't possibly think that splitting up was the best idea right now.

“No one knows we’re cousins,” he explained. “If we keep our distance and sever our connection to each other now, Lex can never find you. I’ll burn the letters and delete the emails. Erase my hard drive, whatever it takes.” Kara stilled.

“You and I are the last of the House of El,” she said, pleading. “You can’t do that. You can’t push me away.” She looked at Alex and Eliza for support, but they gave her expressions of sympathy. “Jimmy and the Lanes know we’re pen pals,” she added. “Doesn’t Lex, too?”

“He doesn’t know your address,” Clark replied with a shake of his head. “Or even that your name is Kara. I’ll get rid of all that stuff.” His voice was even, but his eyes betrayed how much this was hurting him. He hadn’t made this decision lightly, Kara knew. She took a deep, shuddering breath, calming sobs she hadn’t remembered starting, and leaned into Clark’s shoulder. He put an arm around her. No one said anything for a while.

Their final goodbye that evening reminded Kara of their first goodbye, when Clark left for the Earth plane when they were twelve. This time, though, seeing each other again was not an expectation but a hope, a pipe dream even. 

“Stay safe, little cousin,” Kara told him, in Astral, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Clark said. He pulled away from their hug to look her in the eyes. “You’ll always be taller than me in spirit,” he said. He squeezed her hands and blinked back tears as he turned to get into his mother’s pickup truck. Kara fell to her knees. Everyone in her family was gone now. She didn’t cry, but she shook violently. She was still shaking when Alex picked her up and carried her to Eliza’s car. Kara nestled into Alex in the back seat and tried to remember that she did have family left. She had Eliza and Alex. In that moment, it didn’t feel enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get this update out! And here I was last week, all excited about getting on a schedule. Pah!
> 
> We've come to the end of what I've been referring to as "Part One" of this fic. We're about to hit quite a bit of a time skip, but thus begins the real drama you've been waiting for - Kara finding some soulmates. (This isn't the end of the Luthor storylines, though. We'll be meet a certain younger sister soon. Among other trouble.)

**Author's Note:**

> So I know the tags kind of make this seem like your standard, fluffy AU, and we are going to get to that, but there's going to be a whole other plot going on as well and it might take a while to kick start the romance. In the meantime, be prepared for family drama, friendship, and a wee bit of angst. For funzies. 
> 
> Also sorry about Astra and Alura seeming totally out of character here. Since Krypton isn't dying, they ended up a bit different. That may or may not change should a certain plane get threatened by a certain Lex Luthor, but no spoilers.


End file.
